Chicago City Wire

Gubernatorial candidates faced off on Thursday at a debate where they were also asked about their walk-up songs.

Republican candidate and Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) was quick to answer that his song would be "Hard Workin' Man," but Gov. J.B. Pritzker was not able to provide one.

"When asked about a walk-up song, JB is such an out-of-touch billionaire that he couldn’t even name any music," Bailey said in a statement. "On the other hand, I’m proud to be a 'hard workin' man' who will fight for working families all across Illinois!" 

A column by Ted Slowik in the Chicago Tribune noted that "A consensus seemed to form Friday that Republican state Sen. Darren Bailey won Thursday night’s televised debate with incumbent Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker."

"A poll conducted by TV stations throughout the state that asked who won the debate had Bailey leading Pritzker 54% to 46%," Slowik wrote. "Pundits and analysts seemed to agree Bailey made the better impression."

Slowik noted despite the win, Pritzker is still leading Bailey at the polls. 

"More people thought Bailey won, I concluded, because he came across as more brash and aggressive," he said. "Pritzker leads Bailey in polls, and mainstream media sometimes try to make political contests seem more competitive than they actually are."

A recent poll conducted by pro-Bailey People Who Play By the Rules PAC noted Bailey was tightening in recent voter surveys, according to Mike Koolidge, communications director for the PAC.

“Some key takeaways: Pritzker previously was leading Bailey by 10 points in August, but Bailey has chopped that lead in half to five in September. Among 'definite' voters, Pritzker is only up by three points, which is within margin of error," Koolidge said, according to Prairie State Wire. "If you have an option of both candidates, Prizker’s lead is three; if you’ve heard of both, Pritzker is up by only one. Bailey is crushing it with Independents, leading Pritzker by 12 points. Bailey is leading among all men by two points, while Pritzker leads with women by 12. Pritzker is underwater in both total approval (49% approve vs. 50% disapprove), and strongly disapprove (45%) vs. strongly approve (just 18%). The poll's margin of error is +/- 3.46%. The entire survey with additional data is available on the Facebook page of PBR PAC.” 

In the GOP primary, Bailey was similarly outspent by an opponent with billions of dollars on hand and trailed opponents, according to Cor Strategies. He won that race handily after a series of public debates and public forums.

The heated Illinois Governor’s Debate was held in Braden Auditorium on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal.

The debate was hosted by Nexstar Media Group and presented by AARP and Illinois State University.